Meira Kumar becomes UPA's pick for presidential election

New Delhi: UPA on Thursday picked former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar to fight NDA's Ram Nath Kovind in presidential election.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi announced Meira Kumar's name at a meeting attended by 17 political parties including the Left, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, BSP, DMK and National Conference.

Talking to reporters, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, said: "There could not have been a better candidate than Meira Kumar for the post of President."

Like Kovind, Meira Kumar belongs to the Dalit community. She was the first woman speaker of Lok Sabha and served from 2009 to 2014. Meira has also been a Union Minister and a five-time Member of Parliament.

The other name which was doing the rounds as possible opposition candidates is of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, who also belong to the Dalit community.

Also read: BJP stuns opposition by Ram Nath Kovid master stroke